Stefanie and Gene's Indie Wedding in the Redwoods

When Stefanie Kalem and Gene Bae, sweethearts from Oakland, CA, were planning their wedding, they wanted to avoid specific themes. However, there were two potential themes that the couple definitely agreed on. Stefanie explains, "We both love music and the outdoor beauty of Northern California, and these two elements became our guiding principles in just about every aspect of the event."

The couple also relied on a little help from their friends: almost every service provided for the wedding, from the planning to the DJs to the bartenders to the photographers (and much more), was provided by friends and family. Stefanie notes, "Using 'the friend economy' calls for a lot of trust that things will work out (you shouldn't really rush things along or make demands when people are doing things for free or very cheap); the much more significant upside is that even in the heat of planning in the months just before our wedding, we were still able to have one hell of a social life as we were constantly meeting for drinks and dinners with our officiant, florist, liquor retailer, appetizer maker, et cetera!"